Case dismissed against officer charged with failing to protect endangered child who later died

An officer facing charges for not reporting a child was in potential danger and reportedly telling the girl’s mother he didn’t feel like dealing with DCF has now had the case against him dismissed.

That little girl died in a violent crash one month after Williams had pulled her mother over.

The arrest warrant, used Fort Myers Police Officer Tyler Williams’ own words, to describe what he did, and what he failed to do.

The warrant laid out the details of what happened in the early morning of Jan. 18.

During a traffic stop involving a mother found with heroin and meth and her sleeping little girl in the back seat, Williams said he was giving them a “freebie.” Why? Because “I really don’t feel like dealing with DCF at six in the morning.”

No call, no paperwork and no investigation.

A month later on Feb. 17, Leslie Zeagler was reportedly driving while high, and she crashed her car on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Her daughter, Serenity Rose Robinson, was not strapped in and died.

All of this – the traffic stop, the fact that DCF was not called and no arrests were made in January – came to light because of Serenity’s father. He was in jail on unrelated charges at the time of her death.

He spoke to Williams on a recorded line. They spoke about Serenity and the night of the traffic stop. The next day, FMPD placed Williams on leave.

The call was recorded because Randy Robinson was in jail. Williams claims even if he did call DCF, it would not have mattered and they would not have done anything. The prosecutor called that a lie, saying it was a consciousness of guilt.

After Williams’ last court appearance, the judge decided to hold off on ruling whether to dismiss the charges, stating there’s a lot for him to review, including testimony from Williams, his body camera video and audio.

Now, an Order on Motion to Dismiss was signed by the judge on Monday for lack of evidence.